This invention relates to an electronic range provided with an electronic digital timer capable of automatically setting the time of heating according to the quantity and kind of food being cooked.
A general electronic range sets a time of cooking food by a timer. In this case, heating time is set by searching for an optimum length of cooking time for the quantity and kind of food being cooked or by the experience or sense of a person undertaking cooking. Accordingly, the time of cooking the same quantity and kind of food varies from person to person using an electronic range, resulting in a failure to carry out proper cooking.
The prior art timer generally consists of a motor timer formed of a combination of a synchronous motor and gear mechanism or a mechanical timer such as a spring type. The mechanical timer requires the timer needle to be manually rotated whenever cooking time is set, leading to a very much complicated operation. Since indication by the timer is always made solely by means of the needle, an actual lapse of time since the commencement of heating can not be found, if the needle is fixed at a point of said set time. Conversely where the needle is made to move as time goes on, then it is impossible to trace an originally set time, giving rise to the erroneous observation of time indication on the panel of the timer or the incorrect setting of cooking time. These errors have often caused the misunderstanding of the initially set time or the wide displacement of a set time from a desired value, resulting in insufficient cooking. Moreover, the mechanical timer is relatively bulky and subject to failure.
It is accordingly the object of this invention to provide an electronic range provided with a compact electronic digital timer which can automatically set a proper time of cooking or heating for the quantity and kind of food being cooked and, where required, indicate an originally set time as well as a lapse of time from the initial point of cooking time set in the form of digits.